In the Shadow of the Swastika
Both Hitler and the Allies reveled in conspiracy theories, blaming “Judeo-Bolshevism” or “the fascist Fifth Column” for international affairs and individual actions, alike. Some Bavarian Illuminati The Nazi seizure of power was a grand conspiracy that worked. Hitler successfully played nearly all sides in his bid for power but it was the enlistment of the industrial plutocrats that had the most pronounced result. The Germanenorden The ideological basis for Nazism appeared years before Hitler. (...) In 1912, the neo-pagan publisher Theodor Fritsch founded the Germanenorden, a radical rightwing aristocratic society dedicated to völkisch ideas, anti-Semitism, and the eradication of Freemasonry. The Reichstag Fire On the night of Feb. 27, 1933, one week before the first parliamentary elections under Adolf Hitler’s month-old chancellorship, the Reichstag building was set ablaze. Some believe the fire was caused by a Dutchman named Marinus van der Lubbe while some suspect the Nazis themselves set the fire. Hitler convinced the aged Pres. Paul von Hindenburg to sign the Enabling Act of 1933 which effectively made him Dictator of the country. The Hindenburg Conspiracy One of the theories regarding the destruction of the airship May 3, 1937 was that it was sabotage by an anti-Nazi. There may have also been something onboard that someone wanted destroyed. The Assassins Strike Deaths and assassination attempts that can be changed or given more sinister motives. Walter Rathenau: Weimar foreign minister; gunned down June 24, 1922 Harry Houdini: died on Halloween night, 1926 due to an ruptured appendix caused a week before. Angela “Geli” Raubal: Adolf Hitler’s niece and the Führer’s closest female companion during his early political career. She was found dead Sept. 18, 1931 of appearant suicide in the apartment they shared. Paul Doumer: The French president was murdered in May 1932 by a deranged Russian anarchist. Franklin D. Roosevelt: shot at by an unemployed bricklayer named Giuseppe Zangara in a Miami political rally March 1933. The success of this assassination attempt resulted in Reich-5. Engelbert Dollfuss: The Austrian chancellor arrested hundreds of Austrian Nazis, including several local mayors, for terrorist bombings throughout 1933. On the afternoon of July 25, 1934, eight trucks of Austrian Nazis disguised as guards stormed the seat of the government and shot the chancellor. The assassination went like clockwork, but the abortive Nazi coup afterward fell apart in two days. King Alexander of Yugoslavia: One of the most hated and feared dictators in Europe, King Alexander of Yugoslavia, was assassinated by Vlada Gheorghieff on Oct. 9, 1934, during a visit to Marseilles. Sergei Kirov: Regarded by Kremlin insiders as the evenkeeled #2 man in the Communist Party and a possible replacement for an increasingly paranoid Stalin. Assassinated in his Leningrad office building by a failed party functionary Dec. 1, 1934. Huey Long: The powerful, flamboyant Louisiana senator aspired to become president, promising to outlaw the Republican and Democratic parties and serve as the “dictator of this country.” was killed by a lone assailant in Baton Rouge Sept. 8, 1935. Leon Trotsky: Exiled from Russia in 1929, Trotsky was pursued by Stalinist agents throughout Europe before receiving asylum in Mexico. He was killed Aug. 20, 1940 by Ramon Mercador who sentenced to 20 years in prison. On release, Mercador fled to Moscow and was awarded the Order of Lenin (the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union).Alternatehistoryhub looks at one "What if Stalin Never Came to Power?" scenario with Leon Trotsky running the country but it results in an possible Uncle Adolf situation. Reinhard Heydrich: The #2 man in the SS, head of the Einsatzgruppen death squads operating on the Eastern front, and author of the “Final Solution,” Shot May 27, 1942 by two SAS-trained Czech partisans and died June 4. Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto: killed by a squad of Army P-38 fighters April 18, 1943. The Black Dragon Society The prominent paramilitary, ultranationalist right-wing is regarded as one of the main contributors to Japan's aggressive military stance The International Fascist Conspiracy The strange combination of mysticism, megalomania, and international militias that comprised Fascism is fertile ground for all kinds of 'masterminds behind the scenes'. The depression caused Fascist organizations to appear in several democratic countries and it was claimed in "The Nazis Strike" of Frank Capra's Why We Fight series that these leaders were 'getting their orders from Berlin'. Smedley Butler and the 1933 Plot Also called the Business Plot this supposedly involved wealthy businessmen plotting to create a fascist veterans' organization with Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler in charge and use it in a coup d'état to overthrow President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Butler's story was reguarded as "a gigantic hoax" and a "bald and unconvincing narrative." by the New York Times but the McCormack-Dickstein committee that investigated the claim morphed into the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee after the war. Notes Surprising the Tanaka Memorial is not mentioned in this section (or anywhere else in GURPS WWII) even though it was presented a proof that the Japanese had this mad plan to take over the world. It is now thought to be an an elaborate hoax. References *GURPS WWII: Weird War II pg 24-41 Category:Settings Category:Setting Concepts Category:Organisations in GURPS